On June 26 when the sun was still at that
place in the sky when driving east requires you pull the visor down, about
300 young bravehearts and their parents were setting up camp at Arapahoe
County Community Park.
By 10 a.m. territories were established at the park, the younger Bravehearts
toward the center with the older teens – boys and girls were segregated down
the middle – on the wings.
“Especially the older boys, they don’t need the girls around while they are
shooting, with their hormones raging,” said dad Kurt Christensen.
The young bravehearts, or archers, were all part of the 22nd annual JOAD
(Junior Olympics Archery Development) outdoor national championships. By
Sunday, June 29, at the conclusion of the tournament new champions were
crowned in several divisions divided by both age and level.
On Thursday morning George Frangos and his daughter/student Mary Frangos
were busy taking practice shots at the targets to fine tune Mary’s bow at
altitude. Even the slightest imperfection such as a squint looking into the
sun (Mary is a left-hander and is one of the few lucky enough to look away
from the sun in morning competition), or a sight a hair off can be costly.
“A little imperfection in your release your anchor (stance) and it will make
a huge difference,” George said. “Sometimes something little can happen and
she won’t even know. It’s like a race car. You’re constantly doing stuff to
keep it working, to keep it from coming loose or something.”
From Glendale, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, the two along with the rest of
the family including Mary’s mom, sister, brother, their Pomeranian and two
hermit crabs, were thrilled to be shooting in what they considered cool
weather, 85 degrees.
Encouraged by her father who is also an archer, Mary started shooting when
she was 11. She promptly won the national title that year followed by
another title last year that earned her a trip to the Olympic Training
Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
“He brang home a Wal-Mart bow one day and he said, ‘Hey, why don’t you try
this?’ and I did,” she said. “It just kinda came natural to me.”
Two years after her debut in the sport, Mary holds more than 20 national
records, many of which her dad is proud to point out were made with a cheap
$150 bow. Since she began she now has some of the best equipment available
costing between $1,000 and $2,000 for a bow and about $200 for a dozen
arrows.
Despite the cost, which with travel to several tournaments each year can add
up, archers who hope to land a college scholarship someday are restricted
from accepting money from sponsorships, George said.
However, archers can accept equipment.
Steve Ross, who traveled from Nevada City, Calif with his two sons, said the
cost of the sport is significant but he worth it. Luckily, he said, he can
pass down bows from his older to his younger son. As an archer himself,
practice has become a family outing for father and sons to do together.
“I can’t imagine a better family sport,” he said.
Ross’ youngest son Gabriel, 6, was one of the youngest competitors at the
tournament. Coming into his first competitive experience was a little nerve
wracking, his parents said, but by Friday, so far so good. Gabriel started
shooting when he was 4, barely taller than the bow. Sitting in the tent
waiting to practice, he was calm about competing.
“The only thing I really like about (archery) is the shooting,” he said. “He
was a little worried he might be teased,” said his dad. “But so far everyone
is treating him really well.”
“He’s got a lot of confidence out there so I think he’ll be OK,” said his
mom, Mary. Steve, along with George Frangos are two of the advocates of
continuing in archery for a lifetime. Steve still competes, while George has
turned his attention to his children – his younger daughter and son compete
as well. George noted that archery isn’t like other sports that wear your
body down; in fact, a 56-year-old woman was on the Olympic archery team in
the last Olympics.
“This is truly the sport of a lifetime,” he said. “It’s not like gymnastics
where when you’re 16 you’re old. You can do this forever.”
Mary competes in the recurve division, which uses a long bow. There is also
a compound division for compound bows, which are sophisticated machines
featuring pulleys, a level, large scope and trigger release. Recurve
competitors, whose division is allowed in the Olympics, are purists and
consider the compound division lower on the archery food chain. George said
he doesn’t see compound bows ever being allowed in the Olympics because the
athletes rely so heavily on the equipment.
Recurve competitors, on the other hand, rely on themselves. However, those
in the compound division hold out their hope their part of the sport will
make it into the Olympics.
George Dennison, 13, said he sees the value of both.
“I think if they each have their separate category (in the Olympics), then
why not,” the Castle Rock resident said.
In both divisions, rules are strict. Shooting takes place from a white line,
all at once designated by a whistle blowing. Large traffic lights stand on
the field changing from green to yellow to red depending on how much time is
left in that round. In each round two archers at a time line up at the
white, chalk line, take aim, and then shoot their three arrows. Then, two
more shoot.
After each pair has taken a turn twice, and each archer has exhausted six
arrows, music pours out from the PA system and the kids walk to the target
to score. All four kids must agree on the score for each arrow; if an arrow
is called into question judges’ have the final say.
“There’s no room for subjectivity at all,” George Frangos said.
Attire is also strict. Kids must wear either navy blue or white pants,
shorts or a skirt with a T-shirt or sleeveless shirt with at least 3-inch
straps. Attire also includes modern armor: a chest protector, finger
protectors, arm protector and arrow pouches swinging from their belts. (The
serious archers in the bunch will proudly show off their tan lines around
the arm protector.)
The strictness both attracts and yields kids who are well behaved. Those who
don’t follow the rules won’t last in the sport, George Frangos said.
“You can’t not be well-behaved in this sport,” he said. “It’s not like in
basketball, the jock mentality. There’s none of that here. There’s no room
for that.”
A group of local archers — Nathan Meister of Littleton, George Dennison of
Castle Rock and Kevin Christensen of Littleton, who train at Bear Creek
Archery in Englewood — were enjoying time between rounds on Friday. After
shooting in strict silence, they came back to their chairs in the shade,
rubbed lucky charms and joked. “We all have lucky charms,” said Nathan
Meister, who attends Grant Ranch Middle School. “I’m a little superstitious,
but not really. It’s mostly just for fun and we try to take each other’s
charms.” The joking is what keeps them relaxed when the competition could be
intense, Meister said wearing his red visor upside down.
“We usually try to keep it pretty laid back,” he said. “Once you get all
serious it gets all messed up.”
While some of the boys were focused on getting a new high score or improving
on a national ranking, Christensen was looking to hook up with friends he’d
met at other tournaments while Dennison said he was just hoping to improve
on the last tournament.
“Last time I managed to place dead last,” Dennison said.
Perfection is the goal in archery. Each arrow has a potential of earning an
archer 10 points, 1,440 points in all over the two days of tournament
shooting. To Dennison, 28 or 29 points for three arrows is what he considers
“pretty good.” After six arrows Mary Frangos had 52 points.
“That’s horrible,” she said. To Dennison, and fellow competitor Colin Winter
from Grass Valley, Calif., archery has been a godsend. The two had tried
nearly every sport before they latched onto archery and experienced a wide
variety of failures from tennis to karate and swimming. “If it’s not archery
I’m bad at it,” Winter said. “Yeah, if it’s a sport I’m bad at it unless
it’s archery,” Dennison said. “You have to stay still instead of moving
around and you have to focus.” That focus is what sets the good apart from
the mediocre in many cases. Focus leads to consistency, George Frangos said,
and consistency is what matters.
“This sport is about consistency,” he said. “Anyone can get three good
arrows in there, but you have to keep it up over time.” Unlike some sports,
kids competing last week in the national tournament had to do nothing else
than register and show up. There are no qualifying competitions, however
kids who placed well in this tournament as well as three other national
tournaments throughout the year (senior national outdoor and indoor, and
junior national indoor) will earn a national ranking that may earn them a
spot on the national team or a college scholarship.
To George, the lack of qualifying tournaments is what he really likes. At
each tournament his daughter, Mary, has a chance to show off her best stuff
among whoever chooses to show up.
“That’s the beauty of individual sports,” he said. “How do you get on the
Olympic softball team? In an individual sport you just show up, register and
if you’re good, you’re good. You don’t have to wait to be discovered.”
During the tournament names of the top scorers in each division were placed
on a white board, then rotated after each six arrows. Parents, siblings,
friends, coaches and archers themselves kept their attention on the board to
see where they ranked.
“This board plays more mind games on them than anything,” George Frangos
said. “They all want to get their name up there. The girls who aren’t up
there right now are probably feeling pretty bad and giving up.”
Mary Frangos, although disappointed with her score after six arrows,
relished in the fact that a competitor had just “thrown four 5s.”
“She threw four 5s?” her dad asked.
“Yeah.”
“Well, see, she probably saw she was at the top and got cocky,” he said.
“It’s about consistency. My daughter is a slow starter, then keeps getting
better and better.”
For both Mary, 13, and George the balance between being a father and
daughter and coach and student can be tricky.
“It’s tough,” he said. “It’s getting tougher. It’s the age. Being a dad and
a coach is kinda tough. If it was anyone else, she’d think twice before
talking back.”
For Mary the hard part to balance is not how she treats her dad, but
deciding which hats they are wearing.
“It’s hard because you don’t know what he’s being at different times,” she
said. “Usually when we’re not shooting he’s mostly dad, but sometimes he
brings in archery.”
During practice when Mary was having trouble getting her arrows in the
center, she approached her dad with anxiety. “Daddy, do I put (the scope) on
the low one or the high one? I kinda forgot how to set it.” “Put it on the
low one,” George answered.
“Remember, with the altitude the arrows will fly faster because the air is
thinner.” Mary sighed with the attitude only a 13-year-old can muster and
before walking off with an air of frustration said, “But then why are they
low?”
“See, if I wasn’t her dad, if I was any other coach she’d never do that.”
The top archers, like in other sports, spend hours into the double digits
each week practicing and extra time on conditioning and weight training. But
after all the practice and preparation, it all comes back to enjoyment for
all of the archers. After finding the sport, each in his or her own way,
they keep coming back.
“I really can’t say (what I like),” Dennison said. “It just feels good, just
being out here and shooting.”

This story is copyright 2003 by Shawna Hickman, Centennial Citizen. All
Rights Reserved.
Contact her
HERE for permission to re-use or reprint this story.